New Years Day – 1 January

Good Friday – Friday before Easter

Easter Monday – The second day of castertide

Labour Day – 1st Monday in May

Whit Monday – 1st Monday after Whit Sunday

Carnival Monday – 1st Monday in August

Carnival Tuesday – 1st first Tuesday in August

Independence Day – 1st November

National Prayer Day – Second Thursday of September

The History of Antigua and Barbuda’s Independence Day

The journey to Antigua and Barbuda’s Independence Day on November 1st is a narrative that stretches from early resistance to modern political sovereignty. The first stirrings of self-determination occurred not in the 20th century, but in 1736 with a planned slave rebellion led by an enslaved man known as Tackey, or King Court (often historically referred to as Prince Klaas). His plot to overthrow the colonial planters and establish a free state, though discovered and suppressed, stands as a powerful symbolic precursor to the independence movement. After emancipation in 1834, the path to autonomy was gradual. The pivotal shift toward self-rule began with the introduction of universal adult suffrage in 1951, which empowered the black majority and catapulted trade unionist Vere Cornwall Bird Sr. and his Antigua Labour Party (ALP) into power. Following the collapse of the regional West Indies Federation (1958-1962), Antigua and Barbuda became an Associated State in 1967, granting it full self-government while Britain retained control of defense and foreign policy. This 14-year period served as a final proving ground, culminating on November 1, 1981, when the nation achieved full independence as a constitutional monarchy within the Commonwealth, with V.C. Bird Sr. becoming its first Prime Minister. The subsequent political landscape was dominated for decades by the Bird family, with Lester Bird succeeding his father, until their rule was interrupted by Baldwin Spencer’s victory in 2004, marking a significant transition in the nation’s post-independence political evolution.

V.C. Bird Day/National Heroes Day – 9 December

HISTORY OF V.C. BIRD DAY

Vere Cornwall Bird was born on December 9, 1910, in the town of St. John’s, the capital of Antigua and Barbuda. Bird’s family was one of humble means, residing in a low-income neighborhood. Growing up, he was exposed to his fellow citizens’ struggles and indignities, inspiring him to pursue a career as an activist and politician. In 1939 he became an executive member of the Antigua Trades and Labor Union (A.T.L.U.), and by 1943, he was President of the union. Bird led the fight for increased wages and improved working conditions, steering the A.T.L.U. into electoral politics for the first time in 1946. Following the introduction of universal adult suffrage and the ministerial system to Antigua and Barbuda in the 1950s, Bird was granted the portfolio of trade and production, rising to the rank of Chief Minister in 1960.

Bird was relegated to political exile in 1971, following the loss of the government to the newly formed Progressive Labor Movement party (P.L.M.) Still, he returned in 1976 with a bang, regaining the government and maintaining control until 1980, when he won the election on the campaign pledge of securing independence for Antigua and Barbuda. A year later, the Caribbean nation attained independence from the British, and Bird became the first Prime Minister. He remained a prevalent figure throughout his term, leading his party to another election victory in 1984, winning all the Antiguan seats in the legislature.

Bird exited politics in 1994, having paved the way for his son Lester to inherit his office. The Bird family, labeled a dynasty by some, continued to dominate the political arena in Antigua long after their patriarch’s death in 1999. Today, Antiguans remember V.C. Bird as a hero and a great statesman.

Christmas Day – 25 December

Boxing Day – 26 December

Key national holidays include Independence Day and National Heroes Day.